Tallest pillar height200 m
83.3Forklift lengths
6.7 billionSmoke particles
Above forest floor
Photo from Wikimedia Commons
Zhangjiajie Sandstone Pillars
The floating mountains that inspired Pandora in Avatar/Nature & Natural Wonders
The sandstone pillar formations of Zhangjiajie National Forest Park in China's Hunan province are so otherworldly that they inspired the floating Hallelujah Mountains in James Cameron's Avatar. Over 3,000 quartzite sandstone pillars rise from the subtropical forest floor, some over 200 meters tall. The tallest, formerly called the Southern Sky Column and renamed 'Avatar Hallelujah Mountain' after the film, stands 1,080 meters above sea level. The pillars formed over millions of years through physical erosion and the expansion of ice in winter. The park also contains the world's longest and highest glass-bottom bridge, spanning 430 meters between two pillars at a height of 300 meters.
Measurements
Avatar Hallelujah Mountain elevation1,080 m
2,160Tree stump diameters
3.9 tenthsGolden Gate Bridges
90T-Rex body lengths
Above sea level
Number of pillars3,000 units
3,000Thumbs up
1,500Pairs of socks
380 billionthsWorld populations
Over 3,000 named pillars
Park area9.8 million m^2
14.1 millionthsTexases
37,567Tennis courts
Core scenic area
Glass bridge span430 m
2.8 trillionDiamond bond lengths
1.2 trillionUranium atoms
8.1 trillionBohr radii
Formation age12.6 trillion s
520,876Human pregnancies
10.5 billionPower naps
About 400,000 years of erosion